PNN – A number of high-ranking political figures and former diplomats called on US President Donald Trump to pressure the Israeli regime to release Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian political figure.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Al-Shorouk, The leaders of the “Wise Group”, which was founded in 2007 by former South African President Nelson Mandela to support peace around the world, issued a statement condemning the Zionist regime’s mistreatment of Marwan Barghouti and other Palestinian prisoners and their torture.
The leaders of this group of international figures emphasized that many of them are being arbitrarily detained.
The group, currently chaired by Juan Manuel Santos, former Colombian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, stressed the need for Israeli authorities to adhere to their obligations under international law to protect the rights of prisoners.
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The leaders of the Hekama group announced that many Palestinians consider Barghouti their “Mandela,” and even many Israeli political and security figures do not oppose the release of Marwan Barghouti.
The group added: Only the Palestinian people have the right to choose their own leadership, and we welcome the commitment of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to hold free and fair elections under international supervision within the next year.
The leaders of the Wise Group concluded by condemning the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza City, calling it a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement, and called for increased pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, especially given the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region.
Marwan al-Barghouthi is a prominent leader of the Fatah movement and a former member of the Palestinian parliament who was arrested by the Israeli regime in 2002 and sentenced to five life sentences. He is accused of commanding the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and planning attacks during the Second Intifada.
During the negotiations for a prisoner exchange between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist regime and the establishment of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the Yedioth Aharonot newspaper published on October 9 a list of six prominent Palestinian commanders whose release the Israeli regime opposed within the framework of the prisoner exchange agreement.
According to the newspaper, the individuals in question, some of whom are considered symbolic figures of the Palestinian resistance, are being held in Israeli prisons with heavy life sentences, and Tel Aviv considers them a “red line” in any deal.
The release of four of these individuals has been a serious demand of Hamas, but the Israeli regime has refused to release them by vetoing them.
Last August, after entering Barghouti’s prison cell, Itamar Ben-Giver, the Israeli Minister of Internal Security, threatened him, saying: I will destroy anyone who associates with the Israelis.